‘The Dark Knight Rises’ To Shoot May-November 2011

'The Dark Knight Rises' To Shoot May-November 2011

Cast Will Get Script In January

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Empire has managed to wrangle some info out of Michael Caine about the upcoming and hugely anticipated “The Dark Knight Rises,” and while his info was limited — “Christopher is the most secretive guy in the world,” Caine said, “he won’t tell you anything” — he did lay out what the basic plan for the production of the film will be saying, “Emma [Thomas], the producer, said we’d get the script in January. Christopher said: ‘Script in January, shoot in May, finish in November.'”

The outline basically pushes the start date one month from the previously speculated April to what is looking like a solid May kickoff. If the shooting schedule seems absurdly long, bear in mind that “Inception” filming was spread out over five months between location and studio work, and we would imagine “The Dark Knight Rises” will employ a similar mix of both. So far, the only confirmed location is New Orleans, which despite what some fanboys will have you believe, is probably being chosen for tax break purposes, not because the villain will be some kind of swamp monster.

Casting rumors continue to fly with the latest one surrounding Tom Hardy, indicating that he is set to play Dr. Hugo Strange. Meanwhile, Nolan is looking for a couple of female leads — apparently for a villain and a love interest — with Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Blake Lively, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway and Keira Knightley all being listed as potential contenders. In addition, rumors are once again surfacing that Christopher Nolan might shoot the entire picture in IMAX.

We figure more casting news should arrive by the end of the year, if the plan is make sure scripts are in the hands of the actors by the new year. “The Dark Knight Rises” will emerge on July 20, 2012.